GM to show redesigned Cadillac CTS car at NY auto show in March

DETROIT – General Motors Co will show the redesign of its Cadillac CTS luxury mid-sized sedan meant to more fully compete with BMW at the New York auto show next month, officials said on Monday.

The new CTS, which will go on sale in the fall as a 2014 model, will more clearly differentiate the car from its smaller sibling, the ATS, which last month won North American Car of the Year, Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell said.

The current version of the CTS was introduced in late 2007 and helped upend Cadillac's image as a brand for older consumers. However, sales of the car fell 14.6 percent last year to 46,979 vehicles as it aged and was squeezed between the new compact ATS and the larger XTS, both of which were introduced last year.

The new CTS will more directly take on BMW's popular 5-Series car, Cadillac officials have said.

Cadillac also will introduce a coupe version of the ATS next year, Caldwell said. Executives previously said a new version of the Escalade sport utility vehicle and the plug-in electric ELR coupe would hit dealers in early 2014.

Last summer, Cadillac officials said the brand should be challenging foreign automakers for the top spot in the U.S. luxury auto segment in two years - a position it has not held in 15 years. Officials predicted sales for the brand should be double what they were in 2010 within a couple of years.

Cadillac's U.S. sales fell 1.7 percent last year to 149,782 vehicles. In 2010, the brand sold about 147,000 vehicles in the United States.

Cadillac officials have said the brand will introduce 10 all-new or significantly refreshed vehicles globally in the next three years.

People familiar with the company's discussions with suppliers previously said Cadillac may double its vehicle lineup to as many as 10 models over the next four years as part of GM's strategy to turn the brand into a global power. The plans possibly include a flagship sedan, a small crossover and a smaller car to take on BMW's 1-Series.